I still wouldn't rule out the possibility of Angel turning up in Atlanta after the All Star break

yea probably for her icecream shop . I sure hope so though pilight , Shes been the face of ATL since inception although shes had some rough moments they still need her dearly .

The store is supposed to open June 1st. I imagine she needs the time off from the Dream to get that rolling.

I hope she's just the money behind the project. If she's the brains, that shop is in trouble.

From her IG seems as though she has people running the shop while shes out right now getting it together so im guessing she will be there for the grand opening but afterwards ran by someone else maybe a "Muse" *hint Hint*

There are things about the core designation and the core qualifying offer that change on certain dates, but I would presume that if she ultimately signed to play at some point this season, it would count as one of her years played under the core designation. Which would still leave three more.

I know some thought she wanted to be traded but what if it was the opposite, she heard the rumor about being traded to Dallas, and then decides to sit out to avoid being traded and stay in Atl? Now she is cored and can't be traded without her consent. Just a thought.

"Likes money" is clearly the motivation. There are safety issues, and except for a handful of foreign players, it's probably high school level basketball.

It's sad that Lebanon pays better than the USA

Very Sad , I think the league is really watching how effective this is for its future. You cant expect people to take you serious if your own employers dont . Make them a priority and they will do the same.

Trying to get into the mind of Angel is certainly a fool errand, but I'm not sure this is entirely a matter of money. Most stars do continue to play in the WNBA year after year, though lately there has been a trend for the bigger names to sit out all or part of a season. How many All WNBA players have foregone part of a season to play in Lebanon?

In this case, I have to think there is something else going on. Notice that 3 of the 5 cored players this year are not playing, and one was traded. Angel seemed to be complaining about it in the recent interview. Does seem like players a making a mockery of coring. Since she was cored, though, she could veto any trade so it was probably not a matter of objecting to a trade. My best guess - she either does want a trade to a contender or she's just having a fit and showing the Dream brass/owners who's boss.

Spain has named their preliminary squad for EuroBasket and only included Sancho and not Ndour, so I guess Sancho will be there.

Randy wrote:

Lebanon has to pay more - it's called combat pay.

Trying to get into the mind of Angel is certainly a fool errand, but I'm not sure this is entirely a matter of money. Most stars do continue to play in the WNBA year after year, though lately there has been a trend for the bigger names to sit out all or part of a season. How many All WNBA players have foregone part of a season to play in Lebanon?

In this case, I have to think there is something else going on. Notice that 3 of the 5 cored players this year are not playing, and one was traded. Angel seemed to be complaining about it in the recent interview. Does seem like players a making a mockery of coring. Since she was cored, though, she could veto any trade so it was probably not a matter of objecting to a trade. My best guess - she either does want a trade to a contender or she's just having a fit and showing the Dream brass/owners who's boss.

Or maybe she just wants Cooper fired.

I certainly would not go there on vacation, but plenty of American men play in Lebanon season after season and I have never heard of any issues. Plenty of non-WNBA women's players have played there too. The fact that the teams are owned by big Lebanese organizations tends to help from a safety perspective. Though it is not as big on the women's side, Lebanon is easily the third most basketball-crazy country in the world.

Yeah, this has me worried that the Sky will somehow still be a playoff team this season. Atlanta just has nothing. Indy is not looking too hot either at the moment.

Randy, I would hazard a guess that Sykes will be seeing plenty of SF minutes. Cooper had no problem playing Angel/Holmes at the 4 last year, and they're obviously not going anywhere this season so you want to get your rookies as many reps as possible. These days the 2 and the 3 are fairly interchangeable and like you said, Sykes has the physical gifts to make do.

I actually think atlanta will make the playoffs.They look mediocre on paper but the same can be said for chicago,Dallas,Indiana,San Antonio and connecticut.Most of the aforementioned teams have more talent,but the talent is unproven,returning from injury or mia(G.Johnson).Hayes/Williams should be all-stars this season.Teams with two all-stars usually make the playoffs.